The 2018 Hair Expo Awards were a huge celebration of the exceptional talent in our industry, with the winners announced at the awards gala on Monday 11 June in Melbourne.

Among those crowned, Hermiz Daniel took out the 2018 Hair Expo Victorian Hairdresser of the Year award for the second year and also took home another trophy. Hermiz was named as Hair Expo Editor’s Choice, a category we introduced this year in place of the People’s Choice award.

The rationale behind Editor’s Choice was to give our finalists exposure to the editor of a distinguished publication, with the winning collection chosen by someone with an expert editorial eye who works on similar projects in an everyday capacity.

We were lucky that Kim Howells, the Fashion Director of Hunger magazine in the UK, agreed to help us with what we imagine would have been a near-impossible task, considering the sheer talent on display from our finalists this year.

Kim had wonderful feedback for our finalists, owing to the great standard of work and “many inspiring ideas”. Kim selected Hermiz’s Victorian Hairdresser of the Year finalist collection as her overall pick, noting that he displayed “so many great hair ideas in one story, yet he has ensured the quality and execution is as high for each shot.”

She added, “the casting, photography, poses, styling, makeup complement his ideas perfectly. It feels like the team worked seamlessly, a true example of not only one person’s vision but a creatively successful collaboration. It feels very modern, brave, very editorial.”

We think this is amazing feedback to receive from such a big name in UK fashion publishing, and we were even more pleased when Kim offered her selections from each category. Below, we’ve listed Kim’s collection picks.

Congratulations to all our winners and finalists once again. You are examples of how incredible creative work continues to keep Australasian hairdressing at the forefront of the international industry.

Follow Hunger magazine on Instagram for plenty of inspiring and thought-provoking imagery and check out the website for the latest in fashion news and editorial collaboration.